


Everyone Sound Off

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Growing Relationships, Kosmo is a good doggo, Kosmo is a matchmaker, Team Bonding, Team as Family, team friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 03:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16233431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: The team bond is unbreakable, even when stuck in the hospital.





	Everyone Sound Off

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this started its life as a short, fluffy, Kidge plot bunny. Then I saw [this piece of fanart](http://sandyclaws68.tumblr.com/post/177092907561/kaiayame-everyone-sound-off) and the bunny gained about 200 pounds and sat on my stomach until I wrote the whole thing.

Pidge felt oddly comfortable in the hospital, even during the night hours.  There was a constant, low-level hum of machinery that reminded her of her lab on the Castle of Lions, surrounded by computers and data units all working to arrive at the same answer.  For all that she had accepted her role as the Green Paladin with it’s inherent attachment to nature technology would always be her preferred milieu.

But that lab was long gone, along with the Castle.  She was back on Earth, hospitalized with a variety of injuries after the longest, most brutal fight she and her fellow Paladins had engaged in.  Of course the crash landing hadn’t helped matters one bit either.

Her mother had been unbearable for the first day, fussing and worrying until Pidge was on the verge of pulling her hair out.  But Matt’s arrival had put a stop to that; Colleen almost immediately transferring the worst of the fussing onto him. Nyma’s presence, and the clear-as-day relationship between the alien woman and her son, had also been effective as a distraction.

With a mental note to thank her brother Pidge laid back on her bed, shifting to take some pressure off of her right shoulder.  She let her eyes drift closed, waiting for the inevitable descent into sleep.

Which refused to come, for some reason.  Her eyes snapped open and she stared at the play of light on the ceiling, mildly annoyed.  She turned her head to glance at the window; the curtains were closed as tightly as they could get but the illumination from the security light on the outside wall was able to slither through the tiny gap between the pieces of fabric.  Funny how she had never noticed it before that night.

But now that she was aware of it Pidge found she couldn’t ignore it.  Turning her back on it would mean laying on her right side, which wasn’t practical given the injured shoulder.  With an angry huff she threw back the covers, intent on seeing if she could get the curtains adjusted to block that little bit of light.

But she had clearly underestimated how weak she still was. Two steps away from the bed her legs started to shake, and then gave out on her.  The floor was rushing to make painful contact with her body when there was a flash of light and a warm, furry body supporting her. “Good boy, Kosmo,” Pidge praised the animal.  “And thank you. Now, if you could just help me get to the win -”

Another flash of light, and a familiar sinking feeling in her stomach, and then Pidge was in another room, an unfamiliar room.  One that didn’t have an annoying security light outside, which was a distinct improvement. Except for the whole part about not knowing where she was.

“Where have you brought me?” she whispered to Kosmo, hoping that the room was unoccupied.  But a rustle of fabric put that hope to rest rather quickly, even before it was followed by a voice that she knew only too well.

“Pidge?  What are you doing here?”

Even rough and confused from being startled out of sleep Keith’s voice had the power to make her knees weak.  “Umm, I’m not sure,” she replied, digging her fingers into the rough fur of Kosmo’s coat. “One minute I was getting out of bed to try and block the light outside my window and the next your lupine pal was bringing me here.”

With her eyes now adjusted to the darkness Pidge could clearly see Keith sit up in the bed and rub his eyes.  “Kosmo?” The wolf’s ears immediately perked at his name. “What are you up too, buddy?” he finished with a gentle laugh.

“Well, to be honest my getting up was probably not the best idea,” Pidge explained, moving forward and sitting on one corner of Keith’s bed.  “And he saved me from what might have been a nasty fall.” Kosmo jumped up and lay beside her, resting his head on her lap in a silent request for ear scratches.  Pidge obliged, smiling as the wolf turned his head to make sure she hit all his favorite spots. “Is he psychic in addition to a teleporter?” she finally asked, looking up at Keith.

Who had shifted on the bed while she had been focused on Kosmo and was now sitting much closer to her than Pidge expected.  He smiled and joined her in scratching the animal’s ears, their hands occasionally brushing. “I don’t know about psychic,” he answered, “but he definitely likes you the best on the team.  After me, that is.” He looked up and met her eyes. “He saved you on the ice volcano planet, remember? When we were trying to get away from Zethrid and Ezor?”

“To be fair he also saved Lance in that incident.”

Even in the darkness Keith’s eye roll was visible.  “Yes, yes, to be fair. But Kosmo was in the Green Lion at the time, right?  And had put himself there when he rearranged all of our passengers, right?” When Pidge nodded he grinned.  “Case closed, as far as I’m concerned.”

And Pidge really should have stopped there, simply nodded and gotten herself out of the room.  But it was late, she was tired, and in a bit of pain from lingering injuries. All of which combined to short-circuit whatever brain-to-mouth filter she possessed.  “Like owner, like dog, isn’t that what people say?”

The blush that stole up Keith’s cheeks could have lit the room as his mouth opened and closed several times in quick succession.  “I. . . You. . . Uh. . .” he stammered before shutting his mouth so tight the edges of his lips turned white. Quite a contrast to the red color that still stained his cheeks.  He only spoke again after taking a deep breath and carefully letting it out so it wouldn’t sound like a sigh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Pidge, who had wanted to swallow back her comment as soon as it left her mouth, flushed nearly as red as Keith.  “It was nothing,” she replied, careful to keep her eyes lowered. “Just a stupid comment brought on by. . . well, everything in the last couple of days.”  She gave a fake laugh as she twisted her hands in her lap.

“Everything, huh?”  A warm hand came to rest on top of hers, stilling the restless motion and forcing her to look up and meet his eyes.  “Maybe you just need a good night’s sleep.” And he gently tugged on one of her hands as he shifted his body back towards the head of the bed.

“Keith -”

“It’s alright, Katie.  I want you here.”

Pidge swallowed hard and moved so that she was both more on the bed and closer to Keith.  “You. . . you want me here?”

He nodded and chuckled lightly.  “You weren’t wrong, you know. ‘Like owner, like dog’?  It’s one hundred per cent true in this case.” He took a deep breath.  “I talked to him, a lot, during those years on the space whale. About my father, about the Garrison, about Voltron, and about you.’  One of his thumbs started to rub the back of her hand, and then he lifted his gaze and their eyes met. “You were always the closest thing I had to a friend on the team, after Shiro, and that long trip - the isolation - made me realize that maybe it’d be a good idea to see if something more was possible.”

Pidge felt a smile growing at the same time a blush rose on her cheeks.  Just. . . possible?” she asked moving so that she could lay down at Keith’s side, her head beside his on the pillow.

Keith grinned and turned onto his side, their faces so close their noses almost touched and their clasped hands resting between their chests.  “Maybe likely,” he whispered.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Lance had never functioned well in silence.  Having grown up surrounded by a large - LARGE - family meant he was accustomed to the constant hum of voices.  Having grown up in a tropical environment meant he had always been surrounded by the incessant whirring of fans and the soft sounds of ocean waves and breezes.  There had always been the ding of the oven timer when his Abuela cooked and the buzz of power tools in his father’s workshop.

So he wasn’t a person who tolerated quiet very well.  Not that the hospital was exactly quiet; there were machines humming, beeping, and buzzing twenty-four hours a day, but it was more like white noise: there but not really.  It didn’t penetrate his mind or emotions, not the way a human voice could.

Or even an animal one.  He heard a soft  _ boof _ and glanced to his left to see Kosmo stretched out across the doorway to Keith’s room.  The wolf had been there during all of Lance’s midnight rambles, extending the same greeting every time.  The only difference this time was when Lance looked into the room he saw Pidge and Keith curled up together on the bed, sound asleep.  He grinned.  _ About time _ , he said to himself.

But seeing his two teammates like that only served to highlight his own inadequate (or pathetic, if you asked his sister) love life.  Since the revelations about Lotor and their subsequent fight against him Lance felt that he and Allura had achieved a level of understanding, each of the other, that had been missing from their relationship until that point.  That feeling had only grown since their arrival on Earth, highlighted by the increasing stakes of each mission.

But since the final battle against Sendak and what had followed it seemed that they were drifting apart.  His family surrounded him during the day, and the one time Allura had been in his room when they all arrived he had seen the shock and discomfort she felt in her widened eyes and suddenly rigid posture.  She had excused herself not long after, and they hadn’t spoken since. His late night walks around their hospital floor were the closest they had come.

“Lance.”

His name, spoken in that soft voice, brought his steps to a halt.  For a brief moment he refused to turn around, wondering if his tumultuous thoughts were playing tricks on him, but then the irresistible pull of Allura brought him around to face where she stood, leaning against the doorjamb of her room.

And he immediately rushed forward to place a steadying hand under her elbow.  “What are you doing out of bed?” he admonished, walking her back into the room.  “You know the doctors were most concerned about your injuries!”

Allura waved a hand in dismissal.  “That was because they have no knowledge of Altean anatomy and physiology and didn’t want to take the chance.  Coran checked me over and said I’ll be fine after a couple of days of rest, same as the rest of you.”

“Yeah, well, standing in the doorway isn’t resting,” Lance huffed, guiding her back to the bed and waiting as she settled herself before adjusting the blankets.

“But I wanted to talk to you, privately, and I knew catching you during the night would be my best chance.”

Lance felt his heart jump in his chest, then start beating in doubletime.  He kept his face averted, not wanting to give away just how Allura’s words had affected him.  His hands mechanically smoothed the blanket, tucking it in close to her legs before he lifted his gaze.  “Hmmm?” he noised, non-committal.

Her cheeks darkened slightly and her eyes shifted away from his.  “Yes. . . Um. . . I. . .” She took a deep breath. “I just want you to know how much I value the friendship and trust that has grown between us, especially recently.  Without your help and advice I may not have -“ She cut herself off, an agonized expression crossing her face. “Without you I may not have been able to pull myself together after what happened with Lotor, and -”

This time Allura’s words were cut off by the shaking of Lance’s head.  “No, I didn’t do all of that,” he declared. “You’re strong enough to beat anything, even your own emotions.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” she muttered, twisting the edge of the blanket around her hands.  “That may be true, but I needed someone to push me in the right direction and you gave me that push, Lance.  I’ll never forget that.”

Lance’s chuckle was wry as he half-sat, half-leaned on the edge of the bed.  “Yeah, well, if I remember correctly all I did was mention my lifetime of mistakes and my advice pretty much amounted to ‘This too shall pass.’.  Not exactly groundbreaking or awe-inspiring.”

“Maybe not,” Allura mused, a hint of laughter in her voice.  “But you cared enough to try, and that made all the difference.”  She shifted on the bed, drawing Lance’s attention. “If you hadn’t helped me the way you did nothing that has happened since - Lotor’s defeat, the journey here to Earth, saving your planet - would have worked out the way it did.”

“Yeah, and maybe we wouldn’t be in the hospital right now.”

“Things happen for a reason,” Allura replied, sitting up and laying a hand over Lance’s where it rested on top of the blanket.  “And you, Lance, are one of the best reasons that certain things have happened to me. I would have had a much harder time accepting and adjusting to being the Blue Paladin if it weren’t for you.  I would have allowed my feelings of betrayal over Lotor to control me for far longer if it weren’t for you. Amd I wouldn’t have allowed myself to feel anything like attraction and affection for someone so soon, if at all, if it weren’t for you.”

Lance turned his hand palm up on the bed and allowed their fingers to twine together before turning to face Allura, one thigh and knee resting on the bed.  “What does that mean?” he asked, desperation making his voice crack. “Just tell me in plain language, because -” He took a deep breath and slowly reached out until his fingers brushed her cheek.  “I’ve been in love with you for so long that I don’t want to misunderstand if you’re maybe telling me you feel the same way.”

The flush that stained her cheeks was visible even in the dim light of the room.  “I don’t know if I can say ‘love’,” Allura replied. “But I do know that if I am given a choice about who I wish to spend my free time with I will choose you.”

“Really?!”  Lance was unable to keep the joy out of his voice and it made Allura smile.  “What about now? Right now?”

Allura nodded and lifted the bedclothes up.  With no hesitation he slipped into the bed, settling on his back and making a pleased noise when she curled up against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Hunk had a lifelong reputation for being a sound sleeper.  Even when he was a baby his mother said he rarely cried or fussed.  Even sharing a room with Lance at the Garrison hadn’t been able to break him.

So without having had a disturbed night it was no surprise that he was the first one awake and moving the next morning.  When one of the nurses came in to check on him he asked “Can I please get out of this bed today? I’m starting to go stir crazy stuck in this room.”

She checked over his leg, which had been badly broken in the crash (and was the most serious injury suffered by any of the Paladins).  “It seems to be healing nicely,” she commented, “with a little help from the Altean medical technology. I’m going to tentatively say yes, you can get out of bed today, but only with the doctor’s approval.”  When Hunk started to grin her gaze became stern. “And only in a wheelchair.”

Hunk started to complain, but one look at the nurse’s face (who looked surprisingly like the second grade teacher who had terrified him) put a stop to all thoughts of that.  Instead he nodded meekly in acceptance of his fate, breathing a sigh of relief once the nurse left the room. Now he just had to be patient until the doctor came and approved the request and he’d be home free.  Or, at least, out of that damned room.

It wasn’t very long after that the doctor gave his approval and before he knew it Hunk was settling his butt in the wheelchair and testing out its mechanisms.  He managed to keep his face carefully averted so the nurse couldn’t see how giddy he was at the prospect of moving around the hospital, even if it was at a slower pace.  It was pretty obvious that she knew what’s on his mind, though, but she simply shook her head and exited the room without another word.

Hunk hesitated only long enough to grab a deck of cards before following her out, turning the wheelchair and heading straight for Pidge’s room.

Who wasn’t there.  She had clearly been in bed at some point because the covers were rumpled but where she could have gone was a mystery.  He somehow doubted that she had already woken up, since Pidge was a world champion sleeper. Then he noticed the clump of bluish-grey fur clinging to the blanket and he smiled, taking it for the clue it was.  So with a pretty good idea of where he would find Pidge he made his way further down the hall to Lance’s room.

Which was, again, empty.  He knew about Lance’s habit of midnight rambles around their floor, of course, just like he knew one of the main causes of Lance’s mental and emotional agitation.  Knowing all that meant it wasn’t too hard to guess where his best friend might have gone, so with an exasperated huff Hunk turned the wheelchair and left the room, making his way to Keith’s.

Once there he found what he fully expected to given the floof of Kosmo’s fur that had been in Pidge’s room.  Two Paladins, sleeping soundly, wrapped so tightly in each other’s arms that it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began, and one cosmic wolf with the ability to teleport curled up in the room’s recliner.  With his usual uncanny ability to sense his master’s friends Kosmo woke up and lifted his head, staring directly at Hunk with a lupine smile.

Hunk returned the smile and lifted one finger to his lips, enjoining the animal to silence.  Then he maneuvered his wheelchair into the room, parking it as close to the bed as possible, before clearing his throat.  Loudly.

Keith’s eyes snapped open, clouded with confusion at being so suddenly awakened.  But then his gaze dropped to the girl in his arms, the honey-brown hair on his shoulder, and he smiled softly, tightening his grip on Pidge.  His eyes drifted closed. . .

Hunk cleared his throat again.  Even louder.

This time Keith’s eyes flickered open and immediately zeroed in on the “intruder” in his space.  Hunk just grinned and tilted his head towards Pidge. “Anything you want to share, buddy?”

“Get bent,” Keith growled, shifting in the bed so he could press his face into her hair.

“Too loud,” a muffled voice from the vicinity of Keith’s chest put in.

Hunk couldn’t stop the laughter that burst forth, and when Pidge finally lifted her head and glared at him he only laughed harder.  “Come on, you two,” he cajoled once he had himself back under control. “We’ve got some work to do.”

“What is he rambling about?” Pidge asked the room in general.  Keith simply shrugged in response, Kosmo made a sound akin to laughter, and Hunk rolled his eyes.

“I’m talking about Lance, and the fact that he wasn’t in his room when I went by.”

Pidge finally sat up and rubbed her eyes.  “So? He’s been wandering the hallways at night since we first OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!”  Her eyes widened and she smiled, leaning close to whisper something in Keith’s ear.  He looked stunned for a moment, then grinned.

“You’re right, Hunk, we do have some work to do.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

It was nearly half an hour later before they set out together; even with the motivation of seeing what might be going on with Lance and Allura Pidge was not a morning person.  It took Keith shoving her off the bed and Kosmo assisting with a quick teleport to the bathroom before she was even close to ready. And even then she refused to walk, curling up on Hunk’s lap in the wheelchair.  Keith rolled his eyes but pushed the two of them down the hall.

“So what are we expecting to find?” Pidge asked as the wheelchair silently rolled.  “Fluffy cuddles? A tense face off that’s been going on all night? Lance in a pool of blood because Allura eviscerated him?”

Keith snorted.  “Be realistic. If he had been eviscerated the nurses would have found him by now.”

“There is truth in that,” Hunk commented, pointing down the hallway to Allura’s room so Keith could make the turn.  “And I honestly don’t know what to expect. It’s just. . .” His voice trailed off as he gave it some thought. “Haven’t you guys felt it over the last couple of months?  The change in the vibe whenever the two of them talk?”

“Yes,” Pidge replied.

“No,” Keith said at the same time.  They both glared at him, craning their necks so he could clearly see it.  “What? I’m lone wolf style socially awkward and occasionally inept! I barely recognize my own feelings most times!”  Pidge lightly slapped his stomach as he glanced away for a moment. “Although Shiro did say he thought something was going on; that something had changed between them after. . . you know.  All the Lotor shit.”

They walked on in silence after that but it wasn’t long before they arrived at the door to Allura’s room.  It was pushed almost completely closed, sun spilling through a gap about two inches wide. Pidge climbed off of Hunk’s lap and knocked softly, nudging it open further as she did.  There was no response from within, and they were considering leaving and coming back later when a soft whoosh of air indicated Kosmo’s disappearance.

A loud grunt in a distinctly Lance-like tone followed, then something that could almost be described as a shriek from Allura.  Pidge grinned and pushed the door all the way open. “Good morning!” she sang out by way of announcing their presence. Then she laughed.  “Fluffy cuddles it is.”

_ Especially with the addition of Kosmo _ , Hunk said to himself, pinching his lips together to keep from laughing.  When he glanced to his side and saw Keith doing the same thing he almost lost it, though, so he rolled the wheelchair further into the room, taking the time to shift it around and get it parked near the head of the bed.  The bed on which Lance and Allura were together, holding each other close, and Kosmo was stretched out in the empty space on the far side.

“So. . .” Hunk began, feeling his lips twitch.

“Don’t even,” Lance replied with a half-hearted glare.  “Just don’t.”

Pidge bounced across the room and settled herself on the bed when Kosmo made room for her.  “I think there’s something that needs to be shared with the rest of the team, here,” she commented, poking Allura’s shoulder.

Allura lifted her head from Lance’s shoulder, shoved Kosmo a little further down the bed, and sat up straight.  “No. There isn’t.” Her gaze moved from Pidge to Keith and back again, making note of how each of them blushed.  “That’s what I thought,” she commented before pushing the blankets off and rising to make her way to the bathroom.

As soon as the door was closed three pairs of eyes turned to Lance, who flushed a deep red but kept his mouth closed.  “I’m going back to my room,” he said as he got out of the bed.

“Just to clean up!” Hunk called after him, “Then come right back here!”  Lance waved in acknowledgement before disappearing out the door.

“What are you plotting, Hunk?” Pidge asked, stretching out on Allura’s now empty bed and snuggling with Kosmo when he moved to join her.

Hunk shrugged.  “Nothing really.  Just. . . we’ve been a little disconnected since we all landed in the hospital, and I don’t like that feeling.  I just want to spend some time together, just the five of us, and keep our bonds strong.”

“That’s an excellent idea, Hunk,” Allura’s voice came from behind them as she emerged from the bathroom.  When she saw Pidge and Kosmo on the bed together she shook her head with a soft smile. “Kosmo, down,” she ordered.  There was a puff of air and a flash of light and the wolf re-appeared in the recliner. “Close enough, I suppose,” was Allura’s response as she slid back into the bed, wrapping an arm around Pidge, who looked ready to fall back asleep.

When Lance returned he found his spot on the bed taken up by Pidge, who looked far too settled to be easily moved.  With a huff he settled next to Keith near the foot of the bed. “Okay, so what kind of team bonding exercise are we going to do like this?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Almost two hours later Shiro walked past the room on his way to visit Keith and discuss what their next step in the galactic war should be. He stopped when he heard the raised voices within, stepping closer to take a peek inside, grinning at what he saw.

Pidge looked like she was sound asleep, but the others were engaged in a combative game of Go Fish, judging by the shouting and laughter.  Lance and Keith sat beside each other, managing to not argue. Hunk was in a wheelchair parked at the head of the bed, and judging by the pile of cards in his lap was clearly winning the game.  Allura lay beside Pidge, with one arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders and one hand holding her cards. And Kosmo was in the recliner, alertly watching his companions.

Shiro felt a smile stretching his lips and warmth swelling his heart as he backed away from the door.  “Everyone sound off,” he whispered as he turned to walk away, leaving his team - his friends - to enjoy their carefree moments, however brief they might be.


End file.
